As you are no doubt aware by now, Yellowstone drama continues as Taylor Sheridan‘s flagship series moves towards the finish line. The creator and prolific writer has seen some upheaval with star Kevin Costner, who will not return for the final episodes that will film sometime in fall 2024. Additionally, Sheridan has sued another cast member for trademark infringement, and Sheridan might be on the outs with Matthew McConaughey, who is reportedly considering leaving his spinoff (which appears to be 2024) due to a possible clash of egos and scheduling difficulties.
What’s a Paramount+ addict to do in a situation like this? Fortunately, there are always more Sheridan series in the works. Not only is 6666 one to look forward to, but 1923 will bring us another season starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Likewise, Jeremy Renner is back to work with a third season of Mayor of Kingstown, and then there’s Land Man, which happens to feature a reunion between the creator and 1883 star Billy Bob Thornton.
Let’s dig in, y’all.
Plot
Many of the recent development for this series will be found in the casting, but first, it’s Billy Bob time. Expect his Tommy Norris to be a very different character than 1883‘s U.S. Marshal Jim Courtright because Land Man not only takes place in contemporary times but also revolves around an oil company crisis manager, whose story has also been depicted in the hit podcast of the same name. From the series description:
“[Land Man] is set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas and is a modern day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”
Sheridan’s prolific writing tendencies will take him much deeper into Thornton’s character than the podcast did. The show has also suggested that action will take place in Dallas (from the looks of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge appearing prominently in a promo clip).
Billy Bob will deal largely in the business of Texas Tea, but this ain’t The Beverly Hillbillies. Rather, Thornton will move between negotiating with the higher and lower players of the oil business.
Much of the action will also revolve around the Norris family (the Duttons of Texas Tea?), and Thornton has also declared that he is very much looking forward to showing viewers “the world of the oil business that we generally don’t see.” It’s wild to think that there are plenty of stories to be found in an industry that we largely take for granted while muttering about gas prices, but rest assured that Sheridan’s pen has found its inspiration.
Cast
The Norris family will include Ainsley Norris (portrayed by Michelle Randolph, who previously appeared in 1923), who is “the wild and strong-willed seventeen-year-old daughter of Tommy Norris (Thornton).” Tommy’s son, Cooper, will be entering the “demanding work in the oil and gas fields of west Texas” and will be be portrayed by Jacob Lofland. And since Tommy needs an ex-wife (he was probably a not-so-great husband), that role will be filled by Ali Larter as Angela Norris.
Additionally, the series recently saw a Facebook call for extras (mainly civilians who have oil and gas experience) from Legacy Casting:
Hey all! We’re looking for REAL PEOPLE who have experience as Oil and Gas Workers in the FIELD and would want to possibly be on camera for a MAJOR TV SHOW for Paramount+. This is a Taylor Sheridan show that will start filming in 2024 in North Texas (as well as other parts of TX too.)
Release Date
If only we could rig an oil all to conjure up an exact release date. Production has begun in earnest, however, with casting coming together and filming to happen in 2024. You can probably bet that we will see Land Man surface on Paramount+ before the final half-season of Yellowstone comes to light.
Trailer
Taylor Sheridan’s productions are like a well-oiled machine when drama is absent, but not even he’s good enough to pull a trailer out of thin air before filming commences. However, Sheridan has discussed Land Man on video, and from the looks of this footage, the series will head not only into the land of oil rigs but pointedly illuminate (“a forgotten part of the American experience”), as most Taylor Sheridan show’s make a point of doing.
Fingers crossed for a Land Man release date soon.